THOMASVILLE, Ga., April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO), producer of Nature's Own, Wonder, Tastykake, Dave's Killer Bread, and other bakery foods, today announced that it has paid approximately $5.6 million in appreciation bonuses to 11,757 eligible hourly and nonexempt employees, leased labor, and contract workers. The bonus is a recognition of the extraordinary efforts of these workers during the COVID-19 pandemic as the company's 46 bakeries operate non-stop to produce bakery foods. The appreciation bonuses, $500 for full-time workers and $250 for part-time, are in addition to the company's annual bonus program, participated in by all Flowers employees. The company also has implemented emergency COVID-19 leave and short-term disability policies for its 9,700 employees.
"I could not be prouder of our team and this special bonus recognizes all those who are literally on the front line – in baking, engineering, and shipping, those who handle sanitation and distribution, and those who provide other vital support," said Ryals McMullian, president and CEO. "We take our responsibility to help feed America to heart and Flowers team members are showing that every day with passion and courage. On behalf of our company and the board, I thank them for their hard work and commitment, especially during this time of uncertainty."
Actions to Support Employee and Independent Distributor Wellness and Safety
Flowers Foods has taken several proactive steps at all of its facilities to help safeguard the wellness of its team members and the independent distributor partners that serve the market. These include:
- Enhancing daily sanitation and cleaning of commonly used areas and frequently touched surfaces in bakeries, warehouses, business offices and resale stores;
- Restricted admittance of non-essential, non-business-critical visitors to bakeries, warehouses, and offices;
- Daily wellness screening of team members at all bakeries and required self-screening and reporting at other locations;
- Suspension of all non-essential business travel and meeting attendance; and
- Implementation of remote work for business office team members
"I want to thank our independent distributor partners who have taken steps to enhance the wellness and safety practices of their businesses," McMullian continued. "This is an unprecedented time during which we've experienced a significant surge in food demand. We appreciate our distributor partners helping us keep the market supplied with fresh bakery products."
McMullian added, "Our supply chain is strong and we have a number of contingency plans in place should they be necessary. We are confident we will continue providing our customers and consumers with the bakery foods they need as we all manage through the pandemic."
About Flowers Foods
Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2019 sales of $4.1 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.
FLO-CORP
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding our future financial condition, performance and results of operations, planned capital expenditures, long-term objectives of management, supply and demand, pricing trends and market forces, and integration plans and expected benefits of transactions and are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," "is likely to," "is expected to" or "will continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements contained in this release and that may affect the company's prospects in general include, but are not limited to, (a) general economic and business conditions and the competitive conditions in the baked foods industry, including promotional and price competition, (b) changes in consumer demand for our products, including changes in consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and whole grain trends, and the movement toward more inexpensive store-branded products, (c) the success of productivity improvements and new product introductions, (d) a significant reduction in business with any of our major customers including a reduction from adverse developments in any of our customer's business, (e) fluctuations in commodity pricing, (f) energy and raw material costs and availability and hedging and counterparty risk, (g) our ability to fully integrate recent acquisitions into our business, (h) our ability to achieve cash flow from capital expenditures and acquisitions and the availability of new acquisitions that build shareholder value, (i) our ability to successfully implement our business strategies, including those strategies the company has initiated under Project Centennial, which may involve, among other things, the integration of recent acquisitions or the acquisition or disposition of assets at presently targeted values, the deployment of new systems and technology and an enhanced organizational structure, (j) consolidation within the baking industry and related industries, (k) disruptions in our direct-store delivery system, including litigation or an adverse ruling from a court or regulatory or government body that could affect the independent contractor classification of our independent distributors, (l) increasing legal complexity and legal proceedings that we are or may become subject to, (m) product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, and (n) the failure of our information technology systems to perform adequately, including any interruptions, intrusions or security breaches of such systems. The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other public disclosures made by the company, including the risk factors included in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and disclosures made in other filings with the SEC and company press releases, for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the company. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by law.
